This is the part of our vacation where our "must-sees" were completed so our plans became a little more relaxed and a lot more silly.
Strangely, I don't have many (or any) photos for Day 10, but we checked out of Johnston Canyon Resort and headed to Banff town for Mass and breakfast. We found the most amazing breakfast bakery.
Remember back in the Part 4 blog I mentioned booking a "seize the day" one night of back-country camping for our group? Our day in Banff was time to organize and decide if this was going to happen or not. We shopped at all the rental stores and used camping equipment suppliers. We found a Helly Hansen store and North Face store (loved these two!) and bought a couple rain jackets for me and Gavin, and Corey bought waterproof hiking pants. Now that we've spent a week up here we know rain gear is a must. But gear for camping—nothing fit our needs so we returned to Golden empty-handed still looking for camping gear.
After returning to Golden my dad and Corey drove about 45 minutes south to anther town with a Canadian version of WalMart/Runnings. They picked up enough camping basics for one night of back-country tenting.
That evening, Gavin started teething his big second year molars and became quite cranky and wasn't sleeping well. The forecast for camping was chilly and rainy and Gavin is always chilled even in 90* weather, so I made the decision to keep Gavin at the cabin with me, while everyone else would camp at Lake O'Hara the following night.
Day 11: Gavin and I explored the trails around our Golden Cabin while the rest of our crew hiked and camped at Lake O'Hara
Since I wasn't physically with them, I will let the photos do most of the talking ...
(I'd say they had an unforgettable experience!)
Since they had a camping reservation, they were able to take the bus rather than hiking in the 7+ miles. Which left plenty of energy in their legs for hiking around Lake O'Hara.
Oh how I love these two!
Cooking dinner around the campfire with hikers from all over the world.
The report that I heard was that camping went well but was very cold (Kya didn't complain once).
Breakfast of champions (and a much needed warm up) in the day hike shelter.
The next morning, the Corey, my mom, and Kya planned to hike up to Lake Oesa. This photo was taken about half-way up to the lake. Way to go Kya!
Kya hiked some very advanced trails and got the the top of a ridge above Lake O'Hara!
Corey was the only one that made it all the way up, the others stopped about 1/2 mile short.
Lake Oesa, Yoho National Park
Rafters exploring Lake Oesa and mountain sheep spotted on the drive back to Golden.
My crew arrived back at Golden safe and sound with lots of stories to tell — AND they brought me a piece of O'Hara carrot cake!
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